Two downtown bakeries with regular lines out the door are teaming up for a weekend-only collaboration involving a snail and a bagel.
Popup Bagels on Thompson Street and Dominique Ansel Bakery on Spring Street have combined forces for the creation, which they are calling a “Garlic Butter Escargot Schmear & Parmesan Gruyère Bagel.”
The concoction involves Popup’s first cheese bagel, according to founder Adam Goldberg. It’s topped with garlic confit cream cheese and crème fraîche, escargot sautéed in garlic brown butter, and butter parmesan panko breadcrumbs. The snail is served in the shell for extra visual appeal.
The bagel will be sold only at Dominique Ansel’s Spring Street location from Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21st, from opening at 8 a.m. until supplies run out. It will cost $18.50.
Ansel said the high price of escargot means the bagel isn’t really a revenue generator for his restaurant.
“We do it for our fans,” he said. “For people who love our food, and to promote a little bit the bakery.”
Dominique Ansel Bakery first went viral in 2013 for the pastry chef’s croissant-donut hybrid , and he soon expanded into other special offerings, including a cup made of chocolate chip cookie, served with a shot of milk inside.
Ansel said he was personally involved in devising the escargot bagel, as he is in all of the bakery’s creations. He added that collaborations have become a way for the bakery to stay unique and authentic more than a decade after it first captured attention for an unusual product.
Popup Bagels began as a pandemic-era side hustle before expanding to five brick-and-mortar locations in New York and Connecticut, with three more ready to open, Goldberg said. The new locations in New York City will be on the Upper East and West Sides.
The chain is known for its simple menu, offering only a few classic types of bagel (typically, sesame, poppy, plain and salt) and various schmears in regular rotation. The brand has also become known for frequent collaborations — both with small, independent bakeries like Ansel’s and bigger brands like Old Bay Seasoning, Blue Moon beer, and Frank’s RedHot.
Goldberg said Popup teams up with a different brand roughly every two weeks, and this particular partnership came from being neighbors with Dominique Ansel Bakery. After he dropped off a couple dozen bagels at the latter bakery around Thanksgiving, the chef’s wife reached out to say how much she enjoyed them.
Goldberg added that Ansel reached out earlier this year about working together. “Dominique’s always been a baker hero of mine, so we were thrilled to be a part of this,” he said.
The collaboration will be a one-time occasion to “have some fun this weekend,” he said, noting: “I don’t see us expanding our menu items anytime soon.”
